The Louisiana Civil Rights Museum will open its doors to the public in New Orleans at the Ernest Morial Convention Center on Sunday. Teiko Foxx has more

Cut 1 (33) “…I’m Teiko Foxx”

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Now that it’s October, that means only two official months left of hurricane season. So far it’s been quiet for Louisiana. Jeanne Burns has more…

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Amendment 3 on the October 14^th ballot would increase the percentage of state surplus dollars to pay off state retirement debt of $17-billion. Brooke Thorington has more.

Cut 3 (30) …I’m Brooke Thorington.”

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The LSU AgCenter and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture have received a nearly $800,000 grant to bring drone education to high school students. Louisiana 4-H STEM Coordinator Brian Gautreau says the training will provide students with knowledge about how drones and other agriculture technologies.

Cut 4 (08) “…are needed.”

Students are also prepared to take the Federal Aviation Administration Part 107 certification which will allow them to fly drones commercially. Gautreau says he’s working with farmers to get students hands-on field experience on agricultural sites.

Cut 5 (11) “…other drones.”

The grant will also fund the Agriculture Career Exploration with Drones camp which is a year-long course for 4-H students across the state. Students will receive the Trust Advance certification which is needed for recreational flight in the state. Gautreau says the course will introduce youth to careers using drones and teach them to program drones.

Cut 6 (12) “…agricultural careers.”

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More than 30 years in the making, the Louisiana Civil Rights Museum will officially open to the public inside the Ernest Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Sunday. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser says the museum is part of a continued effort to educate visitors about Louisiana’s place in the Civil Rights Movement and the real-life activists like Leona Tate…

Cut 7 (13) “…on forever.”

The five thousand-square-foot exhibit includes information about lunch counter sit-ins, Southern University students marching to the Capitol in 1960, swim-ins leading to the desegregation of public pools, and more. Nungessor says the museum serves as a way to learn about the past.

Cut 8 (11) “…incredible museum.” 

The two-million-dollar exhibit will be the first in the state dedicated to memorializing events and honoring Louisiana heroes of the Civil Rights Movement. Nungesser says the ‘dream cube’ will give the public the ‘wow factor’.

Cut 9 (09)  “…were there.”

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Even with officially two months left in hurricane season, State Climatologist Barry Keim says if we can get through the next few weeks without a named storm in the Gulf, it’s highly likely Louisiana will be unscathed this season. Statistically, the latest storm on record to threaten the Bayou State was Halloween 28 years ago.

Cut 10 (07) “…in general.”

So far, this Atlantic Hurricane Season there have been 18 named storms; six were hurricanes and three were major hurricanes. The average is 14 named storms.

And now that we’ve reached the next to last month of hurricane season, Keim says on average one named storm forms in the North Atlantic Basin in October…

Cut 11 (10) “…of October.”

Zeta made landfall as late as October 28, 2020, and in 1985 Hurricane Juan showed up late to the party and was still hanging around the Louisiana coast on Halloween day.

Keim says even with a few late-season named storms in our history we’re not out of the woods just yet…

Cut 12 (08) “…major hurricane.” 

For the last 175 years, Keim says a hurricane has never made landfall in Louisiana during the month of November. Hurricane Season ends November 30^th.

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Passage of Amendment 3 on the October 14^th ballot would require lawmakers to use 25 percent of any state surplus to pay state retirement debt. President of the Public Affairs and Research Council Steven Procopio says this would increase the current minimum of ten percent to 25 percent.

Cut 13 (08) “…around 2029,”

Procopio says when there is a state surplus of dollars, it’s a matter of do voters want to a portion towards paying off retirement debt…

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The four major retirement systems (Teachers, State Employees, School Employees, and State Police, have a combined $17 billion gap between how much they need to pay in benefits and their investment assets.

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The Saints failed to find the end zone in a disappointing 26-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a battle of first-place teams in the NFC South. Despite the return of running back Alvin Kamara, New Orleans only had 197 yards of total offense. Coach Dennis Allen says it was an unacceptable performance…

Cut 15 (15) “…very good”

Despite a banged-up shoulder, Saints quarterback Derek Carr threw for just 127 yards. Allen was asked about Carr’s performance…

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ULM lost an absolute heartbreaker on Saturday night as Appalachian State kicked a 54-yard field with no time left to beat the Warhawks 41-40. ULM failed to score on third and goal earlier in the quarter and couldn’t run out the clock late in the fourth quarter. Coach Terry Bowden is sick to his stomach over his loss…

Cut 17 (14) “…a long time”

ULM hosts South Alabama this Saturday.

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The LSU Tigers defense gave an all-time bad performance on Saturday night in Oxford as the Rebels outscored the Bayou Bengals 55 to 49. LSU gave up a school record 706 yards and Coach Brian Kelly says everyone should be mad….

Cut 18 (11) “…acceptable”

LSU’s defense has been a source of frustration all season and on Saturday night they made some personnel changes. Cornerbacks Ashton Stamps and Laterrance Welch saw their most playing time of the year, linebacker Omar Speights returned to the starting line-up. They used a number of defensive linemen. But the scheme, the personnel, and the tackling were flat-out bad. Kelly says they will continue to coach this unit up…

Cut 19 (12) “…ever week” 

The loss drops LSU’s record to 3-2 overall, 2-1 in the SEC. Getting into the college football playoff is a pipe dream, even repeating as the SEC West champs is a long shot. Kelly says it’s very disappointing, but they can’t give up…

Cut 20 (20) “..get better” 

After a six-year hiatus, Ringling Brothers. and Barnum & Bailey kicks off their North American tour in Bossier City with four performances this weekend at the Brookshire Grocery Arena. Teiko Foxx has more on the reimagined “Greatest Show on Earth”…

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 If Congress doesn’t reach an agreement by midnight Saturday, the federal government will shut down. Brooke Thorington has more

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Four Baton Rouge Police officers including the Deputy Chief have been arrested following an investigation into physical abuse and misconduct of officers involving a man arrested two years ago. Chief Murphy Paul says officers used tasers and one officer struck the man to get him to comply with their requests during a strip search.

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When the officers deployed their tasers, their body cameras were also activated.

Paul says a supervisor viewed the footage and determined that the officers were in violation of the department’s use of excessive force policy. He says a decision was then made to destroy the evidence.

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Paul reassures the public that corruption and misconduct will not be tolerated in his department and anyone involved will face prosecution.

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The arrests come a day after officers were placed on administrative leave after being exposed to a secretive BRPD “Brave Cave” warehouse where it is alleged some suspects were beaten and illegally interrogated.

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After a six-year hiatus, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey are back with a newly reimagined “Greatest Show on Earth” that opens today at the Brookshire Grocery Arena in Bossier City. Performer Wesley Williams says there will be no animals but their goal is to enhance the total experience with technology and amazing wow moments.

Cut 6 (11) “…this experience.”

The reimagined all-human show features spectacular acts including Criss-Cross Flying Trapeze, Extreme Box Jump Trampoline, and more. Williams says there will be an amazing triangular highwire performance.

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The cast will have 75 talented humans from 18 countries.  Williams points out that his three-story unicycle performance will be an incredible back-and-forth experience.

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The show will run in Bossier City today through Sunday.

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Congress is running out of time and the possibility of a government shutdown is looming with the new fiscal year beginning Sunday. US Senator Bill Cassidy says for the most part there will be little impact on day-to-day life for Louisianans.

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If you do need to contact a federal agency for an issue, however, Cassidy says you might encounter some delays. The state’s senior senator says his office will be on call and to reach out to his Baton Rouge office if needed.

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Lawmakers have until midnight Saturday to reach an agreement to avoid a federal government shutdown. Cassidy, a Republican, blames the Biden administration.

Cut 11 (08) “…good faith.”

During a shutdown, federal employees will be furloughed and those who work in the military and Transportation Security Administration are forced to work without pay.

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Nearly 600 orphaned wells have been plugged since the beginning of the year thanks to money from the federal government and the U-S Fish and Wildlife Service. Governor John Bel Edwards says it’s important abandoned wells get sealed because they leak methane which scientists say contributes to the earth’s warming….

Cut 12 (10) “…doing this” 

Edwards says the federal money is the result of the Infrastructure Law approved by Congress in 2021. The governor says they expect to get more money from the federal government to address this problem…

Cut 13 (10) “…we can.”

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13th ranked LSU is at 20th ranked Ole Miss on Saturday for a 5 PM kick off in Oxford. The Fighting Tigers have struggled on defense and they’ve had trouble stopping teams on third down. Coach Brian Kelly says at practice this week, they harped on the fundamentals…

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The Rebels have been explosive on offense, but they have yet to get their top running back, Quinshon Judkins, going. Kelly says they know Judkins is a talented back that’s capable of having a big night…

Cut 15 (11) “…best players”

A win for LSU and they will improve to 3-0 in the SEC. The Rebels are trying to avoid a second consecutive loss.